L
Lordoftheswarms
Guest
Tomorrow I will be proposing a new show category to the executive of the Orchid Society of Alberta. I'm trying to get the vivarium hobbyists more involved in the community.
The rough draft of the purpose, guidelines, rules, and judging criteria are as follows.
Any feedback is welcome. (EDIT: The formatting is not showing, and the document is too large to attach.)
Orchid Society of Alberta Orchid Show
Vivarium Category
Vivarium culture of orchids is one of the fastest growing aspects of the orchid hobby, and is currently underrepresented to the public at most orchid shows. Our local vivarium hobbyists are particularly talented and it would be mutually beneficial to all if a new show category was created to allow them to contribute to the show in their unique way.
Guidelines:
There must be at least one orchid in flower. All orchid flowers are to be judged together by the orchid flower criteria. Other flowers are allowed, but will not be judged by the orchid flower criteria, but by the other plant criteria such as health, vivarium design, etc.
There is no limit on size of the vivarium, but it may impact the score in different ways.
A very small tank may be less impressive, thus scoring low for wow factor, but could score higher in other categories than a much bigger tank.
All enclosures, made of any material (acrylic, glass, metal, etc.) may be used, but it may influence the score of the vivarium design. Stands may be used and may be included in the vivarium design score. Lights and fans may be visible, but this may negatively influence the vivarium design score under “natural feel”.
Animals such as dart frogs, geckos, or other small animal (excluding snakes) are welcome to be included in the vivarium entries, but Animals will only be judged by their contribution to the natural feel and overall impact of the display. Species, morph or locality information must be listed with a picture of the animal(s) contained within a vivarium. Animal waste must not be visible.
Entrants must be available at the time of judging to answer brief questions about the entry to facilitate judging (ex. Which flowers are orchids to be judged by the orchid flower criteria).
All vivarium entries will be provided with space near electrical outlets, but it is the responsibility of the entrant to safely set up the electrical equipment and conceal the electrical wire where possible.
If a entrant is also a vendor, the 10 display plant requirement is waived. The entry must effectively use at least one half of a 6 foot diameter display table to qualify for the vendor’s display. A 20 gallon vivarium would be an insufficient contribution to the display.
Orchid Society of Alberta Orchid Show
Vivarium Category
Rules:
1. A list of the orchids included in an entry will be provided by the entrant.
2. It is the responsibility of the entrant to be available to indicate to the judges which flowers are orchids. Confusion on the identity of the orchids disqualifies the orchids from being judged according to the orchid flower criteria. Tags do not need to be attached to the plants.
3. All plant material and animals will be contained within the vivarium when the vivarium is not being accessed.
4. If pests are detected, the entry is disqualified, and must be removed from the show immediately. Insects fed to the animals or microfauna (ex.springtails) don’t count as pests, and are tolerable. Sow or Pill bugs are pests as it turns out, and would disqualify the entry.
5. Significant aesthetic or structural damage to a tank or stand at the time of judging disqualifies the entry. If at any time either the tank or the stand is damaged in such a way, the damaged material must be completely removed from the show immediately.
Orchid Society of Alberta Orchid Show
Vivarium Category Judging Criteria
Orchid Flowers:
Color ⁄5
Form (Are the flower presenting themselves, or not so much?) ⁄5
Substance ⁄5
Floriferousness (Do the orchids have a lot of flowers for the size of the plant?) ⁄5
Aesthetic placement of the orchids (growth habit, arrangement of inflorescence, etc.) ⁄5
Orchid plant quality and health ⁄5
Number of orchids in display ⁄5
Other plants
Quality & Health of other plants ⁄5
Total score for plant and flower quality and health ⁄40
Vivarium Design
Balance (ex. Are plants throughout the tank or only on the bottom?) ⁄10
Contrast (ex. Are contrasting colors used effectively?) ⁄10
Proportion (Do the sizes of everything look right?) ⁄10
Natural feel (ex. electrical equipment visible? Animals? Lush growth?) ⁄10
Overall impact (wow factor) ⁄10
Total Score for Vivarium Design ⁄50
Total Score for Vivarium Competition: ⁄90
The rough draft of the purpose, guidelines, rules, and judging criteria are as follows.
Any feedback is welcome. (EDIT: The formatting is not showing, and the document is too large to attach.)
Orchid Society of Alberta Orchid Show
Vivarium Category
Vivarium culture of orchids is one of the fastest growing aspects of the orchid hobby, and is currently underrepresented to the public at most orchid shows. Our local vivarium hobbyists are particularly talented and it would be mutually beneficial to all if a new show category was created to allow them to contribute to the show in their unique way.
Guidelines:
There must be at least one orchid in flower. All orchid flowers are to be judged together by the orchid flower criteria. Other flowers are allowed, but will not be judged by the orchid flower criteria, but by the other plant criteria such as health, vivarium design, etc.
There is no limit on size of the vivarium, but it may impact the score in different ways.
A very small tank may be less impressive, thus scoring low for wow factor, but could score higher in other categories than a much bigger tank.
All enclosures, made of any material (acrylic, glass, metal, etc.) may be used, but it may influence the score of the vivarium design. Stands may be used and may be included in the vivarium design score. Lights and fans may be visible, but this may negatively influence the vivarium design score under “natural feel”.
Animals such as dart frogs, geckos, or other small animal (excluding snakes) are welcome to be included in the vivarium entries, but Animals will only be judged by their contribution to the natural feel and overall impact of the display. Species, morph or locality information must be listed with a picture of the animal(s) contained within a vivarium. Animal waste must not be visible.
Entrants must be available at the time of judging to answer brief questions about the entry to facilitate judging (ex. Which flowers are orchids to be judged by the orchid flower criteria).
All vivarium entries will be provided with space near electrical outlets, but it is the responsibility of the entrant to safely set up the electrical equipment and conceal the electrical wire where possible.
If a entrant is also a vendor, the 10 display plant requirement is waived. The entry must effectively use at least one half of a 6 foot diameter display table to qualify for the vendor’s display. A 20 gallon vivarium would be an insufficient contribution to the display.
Orchid Society of Alberta Orchid Show
Vivarium Category
Rules:
1. A list of the orchids included in an entry will be provided by the entrant.
2. It is the responsibility of the entrant to be available to indicate to the judges which flowers are orchids. Confusion on the identity of the orchids disqualifies the orchids from being judged according to the orchid flower criteria. Tags do not need to be attached to the plants.
3. All plant material and animals will be contained within the vivarium when the vivarium is not being accessed.
4. If pests are detected, the entry is disqualified, and must be removed from the show immediately. Insects fed to the animals or microfauna (ex.springtails) don’t count as pests, and are tolerable. Sow or Pill bugs are pests as it turns out, and would disqualify the entry.
5. Significant aesthetic or structural damage to a tank or stand at the time of judging disqualifies the entry. If at any time either the tank or the stand is damaged in such a way, the damaged material must be completely removed from the show immediately.
Orchid Society of Alberta Orchid Show
Vivarium Category Judging Criteria
Orchid Flowers:
Color ⁄5
Form (Are the flower presenting themselves, or not so much?) ⁄5
Substance ⁄5
Floriferousness (Do the orchids have a lot of flowers for the size of the plant?) ⁄5
Aesthetic placement of the orchids (growth habit, arrangement of inflorescence, etc.) ⁄5
Orchid plant quality and health ⁄5
Number of orchids in display ⁄5
Other plants
Quality & Health of other plants ⁄5
Total score for plant and flower quality and health ⁄40
Vivarium Design
Balance (ex. Are plants throughout the tank or only on the bottom?) ⁄10
Contrast (ex. Are contrasting colors used effectively?) ⁄10
Proportion (Do the sizes of everything look right?) ⁄10
Natural feel (ex. electrical equipment visible? Animals? Lush growth?) ⁄10
Overall impact (wow factor) ⁄10
Total Score for Vivarium Design ⁄50
Total Score for Vivarium Competition: ⁄90
